The application process is simple; Indian people can register online, schedule an appointment at a local Post Office or Passport Seva Kendra, and then complete biometric enrolment in person.
In a major step towards digitising its citizens’ international travel, India has now joined more than 120 countries, including the US, Canada, France, Japan, and Australia, in implementing chip-based biometric e-passports. The goals of this program are to streamline immigration procedures, prevent identity theft, and strengthen border security.
As part of the upgraded Passport Seva Program 2.0, the e-passport rollout got underway in April 2024. Major towns including Nagpur, Bhubaneswar, Jammu, Panaji, Shimla, Raipur, Amritsar, Jaipur, Chennai, Hyderabad, Surat, and Ranchi were the sites of the initial experiments. According to News18, a complete statewide rollout is expected by the middle of 2025.